Winter Pasture

[Rod]

Need some input on a good winter pasture. I'm located in Arkansas and we have about two months of daytime highs of about 45-50 degress along with 30's at night and occasional colder nighttime temps. I tried winter wheat last year but it stayed pretty dormant. Any suggestions?

 

[dun]

Stockpile fescue and rotate the cows through the pastures. We're north of you but not by much. We rarely have to feed hay until mid-late Feb.

dun

 

[Rod]

Ok to drill it dun, or is there a better way to plant it?

 

[alabama]

I have used Winter grazer 70 by Pennington. rye. Works best for me.
It has good grouth in fall and spring with some in winter and I think it way out grows fescue. I am in central Alabama so I am somewhat south of you.
Drill it as it has a seed about the size of wheet.

 

[dun]

Ok to drill it dun, or is there a better way to plant it?

On bare ground that you can roll it in, pretty much a prepared seed bed, you can broadcast it and roll it. For existing pasture I've had much better luck drilling it. I just use an old Van Brunt drill and the fescue, timothy and OG do well that way. Never had any luck with OG or timothy when we tried to just broadcast it into existing pasture. This winter, frost seed in some red clover and you'll have good pasture most of the year and won;t have to mess with reseeding unless you want to put in a little more red clover every couple of years.

dun

 

[John Mc.]

Dun,

How deep should you drill fescue?

 

[Crowderfarms]

1/2 in.

 

[Bret]

Stockpile fescue and rotate the cows through the pastures. We're north of you but not by much. We rarely have to feed hay until mid-late Feb.

dun

May I ask you to talk about your stocking density for stockpiled pastures; indicators for rotating; monitoring BCS for your animlals?

Does it matter how close the cattle crop on the winter stockpile?

I may have some follow up questions but I don't want to muddy it up too much at once?

I like not having to freed hay until-mid-late Feb.

Regards,
Bret

 

[dun]

Since our pastures/paddocks are all different size and shapes I use a pretty unschientific approach. I break things into around 5 acre paddocks and graze then till the grass is only an inch or 2 high then move them. The reason for the short length is to allow frost seeding of clover if I want. We start them as far from the calving area as possible and leave those areas ungrazed until calving time rolls around. Depending on the severity of the winter some of them will be grazed multiple times during the winter.
As I said, not very scientific, but it works for us

dun

 

[Bret]

Than you Dun.

That helps. I have kept my small herd completely off the pastures all winter and put them in a small field as soon as the corn(beans this year) comes off. I am gathering that once the ground is frozen, or at least not soft and muddy, that I can put them back out to clean up a little in the pastures.

I have been frost seeding too each of the last several years...a couple of bags of pasture mix to put some legumes in. I like doing one paddock at a time to stretch the cost out and at the same time I can compare the progress of each area.

As you can tell, I have become about as interested in pastures as I am cattle.

Respectfully,

Bret

 

[dun]

I have become about as interested in pastures as I am cattle.

Respectfully,

Bret

That's the point. Take care of the grass and the cows will take care of you. It's been said too many times to count, but we're really just grass farmers that market our product in beef.

dun

 

[purecountry]

Well said dun.

I gave a presentation at a cattlemans' seminar a month ago, and another speaker that morning called himself a real estate agent. He says since his living comes more from the land than the stock, it's the title he prefers. I say each to his own, but I agree with you.

We utilize the soil to harness solar energy, to grow healthy plants, and use Mother Natures' combines to take it off.

 

[Rod]

Hate to sound ignorant, but what is frost seeding?

 

[dun]

Hate to sound ignorant, but what is frost seeding?

Broadcasting the seed on closely clipped/grazed pasture during the winter so that the freeze and thaw cycle will get the seed into the ground.

dun